Second milestone in Fox River cleanup nearly finished The Record of Decision is due out next month By Monique Balas News-Chronicle There might not as many fans anticipating its release as the new Harry Potter book, but those who are concerned with the final cleanup plan for the Fox River won't have too much longer to wait. The plan was due this month, but it will more likely be released to the public by early to mid-July, said Ed Lynch, the state's Superfund project manager and the Department of Natural Resources' point man on the Fox River cleanup. Coordinated by the DNR and the regional branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the document will provide a general framework for the $309 million project of cleaning the Fox River and bay. The goal is to remove from the area the polychlorinated biphenyls - best known as PCBs, which are carcinogenic compounds - that were released by seven paper companies into the Fox River between 1954 and 1971. PCBs do not break down easily and they have attached to sediment in the Fox River, posing health and environmental risks to humans and animals. "The Record of Decision is 95 percent done, and it's just going through the final decision, final review and briefing of managers before it's going to be issued," said Greg Hill, the chief of the DNR's water-quality modeling section. The document is a joint project of the state's DNR and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and covers the 13-mile area from Little Rapids to De Pere, De Pere to Green Bay and the bay itself, referred to as Operable Units 3, 4 and 5. Plans for the southern sections were released in January. "Generally, what we have (in the document) is the cleanup standards, a description of the work that needs to be done and kind of the basis for it," said Jim Hahnenberg, remedial project manager for the EPA's Region 5 and the key EPA person on the project. "We have kind of a summary of all the work that's been done, a little background, the risks at the site ... Then we come out with a decision that says exactly what we think should be and a rationale for the cleanup level, an explanation of the decision, why we selected what we selected." The plan proposes capping, or covering, some of the contaminated areas, and dredging, or scooping out contaminated sediment, in other areas. In addition, the document will contain a technical section called the White Papers and a response to public comments that came out of earlier drafts. "We respond to all comments on the proposed plan," Hahnenberg said. "We explained to the public and whoever commented, our answer to their comments and questions." A number of state and environmental organizations are involved with the process, but the state and federal governments are the ones who jointly make the decision on the remediation and ultimately sign the record, making them the authorities on the project. Since the area is a Superfund site, the agencies meet nine criteria in establishing the process, ranging from making sure all actions are environmentally protective to the cost-effectiveness of the plan. Hahnenberg said the Record of Decision provides a general framework for the cleanup, but the more specific information will be included in something called the "design." Work for that will begin after the record is signed. It will include much more detailed data on the cleanup, such as exact areas where PCBs should be removed, he said. "The (Record of Decision) tells you what to do. The design tells you how to do it," Hahnenberg said. The project began with the first Record of Decision for a 26-mile stretch of the Fox River from Little Lake Butte des Morts to Little Rapids, which was released in January. The plan involves natural recovery - letting the river heal on its own - and dredging. The agencies separated the two projects to make it more manageable. "We viewed it as being a more manageable project," Lynch said. "It allowed us to get into it and there were also some lessons learned." In addition, starting upstream makes sense from a logistical point of view, Hahnenbergsaid. "Once we sign the Record of Decision, then we hope to begin discussion with the responsible parties," Hahnenberg said. "We hope to have a discussion with them, or even have them doing the work." The companies will likely hire contractors to bid on the project, he said, but they will be responsible for the cleanup process and compensation. The two agencies will oversee the cleanup process to make sure it is consistent with the standards described in the Record of Decision, Hahnenberg said. "People say, why can't you just get out there and start moving mud?" Hahnenberg said. "But it does take some planning if you want to do it efficiently and in an environmentally protective way."